Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams hasn't had the best of rookie seasons. Selected first overall in April by the Chicago Bears, he's been overshadowed by rookie passers picked later in the first round.
Jayden Daniels (picked No. 2 overall by the Washington Commanders) and Bo Nix (selected No. 12 overall by the Denver Broncos) are jockeying for Offensive Rookie of the Year honors after a flashy first 11 weeks.
But why is Williams not living up to the hype? Is he shaping up to be a bust, or is it a symptom of the internal dysfunction Chicago is suffering from? These two stats tell a pretty unfortunate story.
Williams went viral shortly after being drafted when he texted Bears punter Tory Taylor to introduce himself, saying, "You're not going to punt too much here."
Well, that hasn't necessarily been the case this year:
Caleb Williams passing yards | 2,016 |
Tory Taylor punting yards | 2,236 |
Chicago's offense is averaging just 19.4 points per game and has converted only 31.88 percent on third down this year, the second worst in the league. So, Taylor has been punting a lot this year.
Chicago scored its first touchdown on Sunday after failing to find the end zone in its last two games.
But is that indicative of Williams' execution or the team as a whole? According to Fantasy Points Data's Scott Barrett, Williams is having the worst season by any active quarterback of all time.
How bad has Caleb Williams been?
— Scott Barrett (@ScottBarrettDFB) November 15, 2024
In terms of accuracy and sack avoidance, it's the worst QB season in recent memory. Worse than any season from Zach Wilson, Bryce Young, or Justin Fields, as impossible as that may seem
cc: @FantasyPtsData / @fball_insights pic.twitter.com/ulS1DDvn6z
Per Barrett's chart, Williams is the quarterback with the highest pressure-to-sack rate (roughly 31 percent) and the lowest catchable throw rate (under 65 percent).
That's worse than Justin Fields' second season in Chicago (2022), Zach Wilson's rookie year with the Jets (2021) and Bryce Young's rookie campaign with Carolina (2023).
Now, to be fair, Williams' offensive line is one of the worst in the league (24th per Pro Football Network), so that explains why he's the most-sacked passer in the league (41). But his five interceptions and 61.8% completion percentage are hugely indicative of his poor 44.2 QBR this year.
However, winning cures all, and Chicago has won four games so far — just three short of its total in 2023. It also lost four games by just a one-score margin, which indicates just a single drive or a handful of plays has kept the team from a much different fate this season.
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